CW network offers big schedule revamp for fall

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - The CW network is hoping to turn around a year of disappointing ratings by shaking up its schedule this fall.

The young network said Thursday that its new series include a modern take on "Beauty and the Beast," an action drama "Arrow" based on comic book characters and "The Carrie Diaries," a prequel to "Sex and the City" about Carrie Bradshaw's life as a high school student in the 1980s.

The Nielsen Co. says the CW saw its ratings slip by 17 percent this season and 20 percent among the young women who make up its target audience.

Its executives reacted with a dramatic schedule shuffle. It will move the soapy "90210" from Tuesdays to Monday at 8 p.m. ET. The sophomore drama "Hart of Dixie" switches from Monday to Tuesday, preceding a new series, "Emily Owens, M.D.," about a young doctor who finds her hospital much like high school.

"The Carrie Diaries," starring 18-year-old actress AnnaSophia Robb in the title role, begins on Monday nights in January after the final season of "Gossip Girl" finishes.

"Arrow" will air on Wednesdays, followed by the returning drama "Supernatural," which moves from Friday nights.

"The Vampire Diaries" remains on Thursday, followed by the new "Beauty and the Beast," in which  a female detective finds a handsome doctor who's a beast in his spare time.

"America's Next Top Model" moves to Friday nights, joining the drama "Nikita."

The network also picked up the drama "Cult," which is set to debut sometime midseason.

The CW does not program for the weekends. The network says it is moving toward less serial programming, emphasizing series where viewers don't feel they've lost the story line if they miss a week or two.

Earlier this week, the network announced it had canceled its drama "Ringer," which starred Sarah Michelle Gellar as a woman who assumes her twin sister's life, and the teen witch series "The Secret Circle," after one season each.